Three studies show damaging effects of poor lifestyle and environment
Hong Kong received a health wake-up call on several fronts yesterday, as researchers released a report showing that second-hand smoke alone probably costs the city $1.2 billion a year in medical costs.
A second report said air pollution could be a factor in more than 15,000 deaths a year, while a third pointed to a serious lack of fitness among young adults that could cause health problems later.
The University of Hong Kong community medicine department said the overall health cost of smoking was $5.3 billion, with passive smoke accounting for a third of that.
The report is sure to lend impetus to calls for the government to legislate a total ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and the workplace - although critics claimed the academics were just being used as tools by the government.
The research was released on the eve of a meeting by the Legco health services panel on long-delayed amendments to the smoking ordinance. And it came three days before the world's first tobacco control treaty becomes binding international law on Sunday.
